{"id":1014,"date":"2013-04-03T16:07:19","date_gmt":"2013-04-03T16:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kriesi.at\/themes\/enfold\/?page_id=1014"},"modified":"2013-04-03T16:07:19","modified_gmt":"2013-04-03T16:07:19","slug":"blog-single-author-big","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?page_id=1014","title":{"rendered":"Blog Single Author Big"},"content":{"rendered":"<div  class='av-alb-blogposts template-blog  '  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Blog\" ><article class=\"post-entry post-entry-type-standard post-entry-4686 post-loop-1 post-parity-odd single-big with-slider post-4686 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-apologetics category-current-events category-muscular-christianity category-politics tag-foxnews tag-legacy-media tag-president-trump\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" ><div class=\"big-preview single-big\"  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4686\"  title=\"new_logo_rgb_blog\" ><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"321\" src=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/new_logo_rgb_blog-800x321.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-3285 avia-img-lazy-loading-3285 attachment-entry_with_sidebar size-entry_with_sidebar wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"blog-meta\"><\/div><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix standard-content'><header class=\"entry-content-header\" aria-label=\"Post: Copy \/ Paste\"><h2 class='post-title entry-title '  itemprop=\"headline\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4686\" rel=\"bookmark\" title=\"Permanent Link: Copy \/ Paste\">Copy \/ Paste<span class=\"post-format-icon minor-meta\"><\/span><\/a><\/h2><span class=\"post-meta-infos\"><time class=\"date-container minor-meta updated\"  itemprop=\"datePublished\" datetime=\"2026-06-21T13:15:21+00:00\" >June 21, 2026<\/time><span class=\"text-sep\">\/<\/span><span class=\"blog-categories minor-meta\">in <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=35\" rel=\"tag\">Apologetics<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=42\" rel=\"tag\">Current Events<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=27\" rel=\"tag\">Muscular Christianity<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=41\" rel=\"tag\">Politics<\/a><\/span><span class=\"text-sep\">\/<\/span><span class=\"blog-author minor-meta\">by <span class=\"entry-author-link\"  itemprop=\"author\" ><span class=\"author\"><span class=\"fn\"><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?author=1\" rel=\"author\">Bruce Gust<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/header><div class=\"entry-content\"  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>You always want to be explain what you believe and why (1 Pet 3:15). You never want to be guilty of simply &#8220;copying and pasting&#8221; what someone else said and use that as the basis for your convictions.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a lot of that going on today. You&#8217;ll hear people rant about policies and personalities, yet when you look at what they use to justify their indignation, you&#8217;re met with what sounds like a script that they&#8217;ve just copied and pasted from their favorite news outlet.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s nothing wrong with citing a credible resource, but you want to make sure that it&#8217;s credible before you refer to it as conclusive.<\/p>\n<p>Fact is, it&#8217;s possible to be honest without telling the whole truth.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Some will pose as outraged by a particular behavior, yet are suspiciously silent when that same behavior is exhibited in those they support.<\/li>\n<li>Others are critical of the accomplishments of those they disagree with, yet applaud those same accomplishments when done by those they admire.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It&#8217;s more than a double standard, because you have to have a standard to begin with in order for it to be duplicated.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re among those that define an &#8220;open mind&#8221; as someone who will say things like, &#8220;What&#8217;s true for you isn&#8217;t necessarily true for me,&#8221; you&#8217;ve declared yourself to be utterly meaningless, because, according to your own logic, a person can accuse you of being a liar and not be wrong.<\/p>\n<p>You want to &#8220;evaluate&#8221; all of the relevant facts based on their substance and relevance to the issue being discussed. You don&#8217;t want to simply &#8220;eliminate&#8221; those facts that are credible, yet contradict the conclusion that aligns with what you want to hear. However compelling an appeal for pity may sound, it&#8217;s revealed as a fool&#8217;s paradise when it&#8217;s determined that the pain they&#8217;re feeling is a result of them having shot themselves in the foot.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to be taken seriously, you want to be able to demonstrate the fact that you have evaluated the facts and not just eliminated the facts you don&#8217;t want to consider. You do that by being able to explain what you believe and why you believe it, and that&#8217;s not accomplished by simply &#8220;copying and pasting&#8221; from your preferred collection of resources.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><div class='post_delimiter'><\/div><\/div><div class=\"post_author_timeline\"><\/div><span class='hidden'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='url'>https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/new_logo_rgb_blog.jpg<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='height'>324<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='width'>800<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"publisher\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Organization\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='name'>Bruce Gust<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='logo' itemscope itemtype='https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='url'>https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/mc_logo_plain-300x138.jpg<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"author\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Person\" ><span itemprop='name'>Bruce Gust<\/span><\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"datePublished\" datetime=\"2026-06-21T13:15:21+00:00\" >2026-06-21 13:15:21<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"dateModified\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/dateModified\" >2026-06-25 18:58:58<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"mainEntityOfPage\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/mainEntityOfPage\" ><span itemprop='name'>Copy \/ Paste<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/article><article class=\"post-entry post-entry-type-standard post-entry-4682 post-loop-2 post-parity-even single-big with-slider post-4682 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-current-events category-discipleship category-muscular-christianity category-politics tag-discipline tag-education tag-illegal-immigration tag-law-enforcement tag-moral-courage tag-personal-responsibility\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" ><div class=\"big-preview single-big\"  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4682\"  title=\"new_logo_rgb_blog\" ><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"321\" src=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/new_logo_rgb_blog-800x321.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-3285 avia-img-lazy-loading-3285 attachment-entry_with_sidebar size-entry_with_sidebar wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"blog-meta\"><\/div><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix standard-content'><header class=\"entry-content-header\" aria-label=\"Post: The Elimination of Tension\"><h2 class='post-title entry-title '  itemprop=\"headline\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4682\" rel=\"bookmark\" title=\"Permanent Link: The Elimination of Tension\">The Elimination of Tension<span class=\"post-format-icon minor-meta\"><\/span><\/a><\/h2><span class=\"post-meta-infos\"><time class=\"date-container minor-meta updated\"  itemprop=\"datePublished\" datetime=\"2026-06-20T12:22:44+00:00\" >June 20, 2026<\/time><span class=\"text-sep\">\/<\/span><span class=\"blog-categories minor-meta\">in <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=42\" rel=\"tag\">Current Events<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=22\" rel=\"tag\">Discipleship<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=27\" rel=\"tag\">Muscular Christianity<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=41\" rel=\"tag\">Politics<\/a><\/span><span class=\"text-sep\">\/<\/span><span class=\"blog-author minor-meta\">by <span class=\"entry-author-link\"  itemprop=\"author\" ><span class=\"author\"><span class=\"fn\"><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?author=1\" rel=\"author\">Bruce Gust<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/header><div class=\"entry-content\"  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>Some in our society today want to define &#8220;love&#8221; as being the elimination of tension.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s no confrontation, no correction&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;just affirmation.<\/p>\n<p>When you trace that line of reasoning to its inevitable conclusion, you have a situation where<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Law Enforcement (Rom 13:4-5)<\/li>\n<li>Discipline (Prov 15:10; Prov 25:28)<\/li>\n<li>Education (Prov 4:13; 18:15)<\/li>\n<li>Personal Responsibility (Rom 14:12; Gal 6:5)<\/li>\n<li>Moral Courage (Josh 1:9; Prov 28:1; 1 Cor 16:13)<\/li>\n<li>and a healthy Work Ethic (Prov 6:6; Matt 25:14-30)&#8230;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8230;are all regarded as detrimental.<\/p>\n<p>Even the concept of God&#8217;s Grace becomes toxic because of the way it implies that a person needs to be forgiven (Prov 14:9; 28:26; 30:12; Lk 18:11-12; 1 Jn 1:8).<\/p>\n<p>Love is often manifested as a person&#8217;s willingness to endure the tension that occurs when a commitment to another&#8217;s welfare is perceived as an assault on their happiness (Prov 27:6; Heb 12:2).<\/p>\n<p>That kind of love is rare, but it&#8217;s the only kind that is real (Prov 27:5).<\/p>\n<p>Everything else is a cowardly imitation posing as compassion (Prov 27:6; 29:5; Lk 22:47-48).<\/p>\n<div class=\"Fsg96\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"ep\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-sfc-inited=\"2\" data-copy-service-computed-style=\"font-family: &quot;Google Sans&quot;, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);\"><!--TgQPHd||[]--><\/div>\n<div class=\"\" data-bfc=\"\" data-ved=\"2ahUKEwisxuarpZiVAxW64skDHbs0EhMQi4wTegoIAggACAEIDRAA\" data-copy-service-computed-style=\"font-family: &quot;Google Sans&quot;, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);\">\n<div class=\"IQKZHf\" data-sfc-root=\"ep\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style=\"font-family: &quot;Google Sans&quot;, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(0, 29, 53);\">\n<div class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"ep\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAIIAAgBCA0QAQ\" data-complete=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style=\"font-family: &quot;Google Sans&quot;, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(0, 29, 53);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><div class='post_delimiter'><\/div><\/div><div class=\"post_author_timeline\"><\/div><span class='hidden'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='url'>https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/new_logo_rgb_blog.jpg<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='height'>324<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='width'>800<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"publisher\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Organization\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='name'>Bruce Gust<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='logo' itemscope itemtype='https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='url'>https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/mc_logo_plain-300x138.jpg<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"author\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Person\" ><span itemprop='name'>Bruce Gust<\/span><\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"datePublished\" datetime=\"2026-06-20T12:22:44+00:00\" >2026-06-20 12:22:44<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"dateModified\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/dateModified\" >2026-06-21 12:30:43<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"mainEntityOfPage\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/mainEntityOfPage\" ><span itemprop='name'>The Elimination of Tension<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/article><article class=\"post-entry post-entry-type-standard post-entry-4660 post-loop-3 post-parity-odd single-big with-slider post-4660 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-uncategorized tag-illegal-immigration tag-love-your-enemy tag-love-your-neighbor tag-what-would-jesus-do\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" ><div class=\"big-preview single-big\"  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4660\"  title=\"new_logo_rgb_blog\" ><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"321\" src=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/new_logo_rgb_blog-800x321.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-3285 avia-img-lazy-loading-3285 attachment-entry_with_sidebar size-entry_with_sidebar wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"blog-meta\"><\/div><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix standard-content'><header class=\"entry-content-header\" aria-label=\"Post: What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy?  | Part IIII\"><h2 class='post-title entry-title '  itemprop=\"headline\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4660\" rel=\"bookmark\" title=\"Permanent Link: What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy?  | Part IIII\">What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy?  | Part IIII<span class=\"post-format-icon minor-meta\"><\/span><\/a><\/h2><span class=\"post-meta-infos\"><time class=\"date-container minor-meta updated\"  itemprop=\"datePublished\" datetime=\"2026-06-19T10:14:44+00:00\" >June 19, 2026<\/time><span class=\"text-sep\">\/<\/span><span class=\"blog-categories minor-meta\">in <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=1\" rel=\"tag\">Uncategorized<\/a><\/span><span class=\"text-sep\">\/<\/span><span class=\"blog-author minor-meta\">by <span class=\"entry-author-link\"  itemprop=\"author\" ><span class=\"author\"><span class=\"fn\"><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?author=1\" rel=\"author\">Bruce Gust<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/header><div class=\"entry-content\"  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>This is a post that happened on quora.com. The original question was, &#8220;Why would evangelicals support a person like Trump?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>To my surprise, a former Southern Baptist preacher spoke up and regurgitated the same kind of rhetoric you would expect to hear from a Liberal, as far as voicing the perspective of an outraged victim being forced to tolerate the ignorance and cruelty of an administration that refuses to buckle beneath the weight of hypocrisy posing as compassion.<\/p>\n<p>What made it even more surprising is that he refused to answer my questions and instead chose to say I wasn&#8217;t worth talking to. Hardly the response you would expect from someone who claims to have the Substance of Scripture to back up his convictions.<\/p>\n<p>When you question someone&#8217;s relationship with Christ, you want to be able to point to something that represents an inconsistency with the whole of God&#8217;s Word, and not something that&#8217;s contrary to a verse that&#8217;s been taken out of context.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s what this Pastor does. If your starting point is a flawed premise, than it becomes easy to dismiss the truth as the result of ignorance and a lack of character.<\/p>\n<p>Most of his content is based on a resolve to believe that &#8220;loving your neighbor&#8221; means to make it easier for them to break the law. He constantly refers to the biblical mandate to love the &#8220;foreigner&#8221; and the &#8220;stranger,&#8221; while simultaneously overlooking the way in which God holds foreigners and strangers accountable to the laws of the land.<\/p>\n<p>This man is not unique, however. There are a lot of people in our society today who welcome the opportunity to be perceived as sophisticated and compassionate without it costing them anything. They don&#8217;t talk to the surviving family members of those who&#8217;ve been killed or raped by illegal immigrants, and they keep their doors locked while insisting that our country keeps its doors wide open. Their hypocrisy is exceeded only by their indifference.<\/p>\n<p>While asking the right questions is still an effective way of separating fact from fiction, it&#8217;s also important to recognize when Scripture is either being quoted out of context, or cited at the expense of other Scriptures that speak to the same issue. You see that same dynamic when Christ was tempted in the wilderness by Satan who was prolific in citing certain verses, but only according to the bits and pieces that suited his purpose.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the dialogue in its entirety. Watch how he avoids answering certain questions and they way he refrains from applying the whole of God&#8217;s Word and instead asserts a singular verse as a bottom line and intentionally omits other verses that need to be applied in order to process all of God&#8217;s Directions correctly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Question: Why do evangelicals support a person like Trump?<\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 90%; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #ccc; box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #ccc; height: 300px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10pt; margin: auto;\">\n<div style=\"height: 290px; overflow-y: scroll;\">\n<p><b>Pastor:<\/b> I\u2019m a lifelong Southern Baptist and former pastor, seminary trained, and the son of a CCC treasurer and Baptist church deacon growing up in north Mississippi. I think I\u2019m pretty qualified to answer this. Evangelical culture has developed over the years into this angry, cynical group, at least when it comes to politics and the media. Perfectly nice people become very rigid and angry whenever it comes to the \u201cculture war.\u201d There is a feeling of victimhood- evangelicals used to rule everything and be the group every politician and entertainer pandered to. A fast shift happened in the 70\u2019s when we became the minority (though not oppressed by any means). That generation is Trump\u2019s base, the ones who watched the shift happen and were so disgusted by it.<\/p>\n<p>Race- The importance can\u2019t be understated. Older white Evangelicals often feel victimized by affirmative action, black focused charities, talk of equity and equality, and love to quote crime stats in the black community. The perception is that tax dollars that they pay is used to make those black lives better only to have the recipients disrespect and destroy what\u2019s given to them. The well publicized riots, filthy rap music, and crime stats in black neighborhoods in practically every US city feeds the prejudice. Trump didn\u2019t say it explicitly, but when he rails against entitlement spending and threatens to send the National Guard in with guns to stop riots, we all know what he means.<\/p>\n<p>Sexual ethics- Not that Republicans particularly do a lot here, but it is certainly Democrats who push for gay rights, abortion access, and before that loosening of decency standards in the entertainment world. Trump played into that disgust with promises to outlaw abortion and comments against the rest.<\/p>\n<p>Capitalism- Americans who grew up during the Cold War associate communism\/ socialism with atheist USSR and capitalism with Christian USA. The logic is faulty, but it has persisted. Trump\u2019s acts of deregulation satisfied that bias, as did his promise to abolish the ACA. The latter was a double whammy- it was the signature achievement of his black predecessor and benefited black and poor people more than the white working class (at least as the voters saw it).<\/p>\n<p>Identity politics-For many Evangelicals in the south, Republican = Christian. So even if the candidate doesn\u2019t exhibit Christian morals or even effective leadership, he\u2019s still \u201cour guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Distrust of the educational system- Mostly because evolution was taught, shady preachers were able to bias evangelicals against higher education and those trained by it. This quickly trickled down to the public school system as well, leading to many evangelical families choosing to private school or homeschool their kids so they\u2019d learn from a curriculum friendly to literal interpretation of the Bible. Many evangelicals now won\u2019t believe anything that comes out of academia unless it\u2019s carefully curated to affirm their biases (PraegerU, Fox News, etc). So issues like climate change, CRT, progressive economics, psychology, vaccines, and others are all looked at as a power grab by dirty Democrat politicians. Trump rallied against them all and gained the love of the ignorant.<\/p>\n<p>So to summarize, Trump knew white Evangelical culture very well and said everything they wanted to hear in exactly the way they themselves said it. He truly was their guy, the representation of how they actually think. I\u2019m still an evangelical in matters of Scripture and the fundamental beliefs of Christianity, but I\u2019m strongly opposed to the caustic and ignorant nature that has set in when it comes to society and politics.<br \/>\nUpdate: Thanks for all the love and the upvotes. It\u2019s nearly at 1000 after 8 months, by far my most popular Quora post. I\u2019ve loved the reactions and conversations in the comments as well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>So, I read his response and my first thought is, &#8220;If you&#8217;re going to say that you&#8217;re a Pastor, why are you not citing Scripture to back up your comments?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Right behind that would be the way that he&#8217;s trying to categorize anyone who supports Trump as being ignorant, hostile, racist, and legalistic. It sounds like a reasonable argument, maybe, until you contemplate the way a person who doesn&#8217;t have a valid point will often position themselves as victims of an ignorant and angry mob. That way they don&#8217;t have to explain why their ideas don&#8217;t work, and why don&#8217;t need to take responsibility for their actions.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, he&#8217;s making his argument according to a tactic, rather than a topic.<\/p>\n<p>So, here&#8217;s what I said&#8230;<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 90%; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #ccc; box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #ccc; height: 300px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10pt; margin: auto;\">\n<div style=\"height: 290px; overflow-y: scroll;\">\n<p><b>Bruce<\/b> (the Pastor&#8217;s initial comments are in italics, my response is in plain text):<\/p>\n<p><i>I\u2019m a lifelong Southern Baptist and former pastor, seminary trained, and the son of a CCC treasurer and Baptist church deacon growing up in north Mississippi. I think I\u2019m pretty qualified to answer this.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Sounds like it. But I\u2019ve reached a place where the moment someone references himself as a pastor, I\u2019m expecting him to reinforce his comments with Scripture, and that doesn\u2019t seem to be the case here. So, while you may have a point, if you\u2019re not going to cite the Bible as the foundation upon which you base your comments, I feel like I\u2019m listening to an opinion more so than a bottom line.<\/p>\n<p><i>That generation is Trump\u2019s base, the ones who watched the shift happen and were so disgusted by it.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m an ordained pastor, born again, and a nine year veteran of the USMC. I voted for Trump, not because I was \u201cdisgusted,\u201d but because his policies line up with Scripture more so than any other candidate, certainly more so that Kamala Harris (Gen 1:27 [Transgender]; 2 Thess 3:10 [Socialism]; Lev 20:13; Rom 1:27 [Homosexuality]; Is 45:4, 13 [You don\u2019t have to be a believer to justify my vote]).<\/p>\n<p><i>Race- The importance can\u2019t be understated. Older white Evangelicals often feel victimized by affirmative action, black focused charities, talk of equity and equality, and love to quote crime stats in the black community.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Your ethnicity is not a factor. Your work ethic, your character, your resume, and your willingness to take responsibility for your actions, on the other hand, is paramount (Prov 21:25; 26:13\u201314; Matt 25:14\u201330; 2 Thess 3:10).<\/p>\n<p><i>Sexual ethics- Not that Republicans particularly do a lot here, but it is certainly Democrats who push for gay rights, abortion access, and before that loosening of decency standards in the entertainment world. Trump played into that disgust with promises to outlaw abortion and comments against the rest.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t justify driving on the wrong side of the road by saying you have the \u201cright\u201d to be happy. In that context, that\u2019s not a \u201cright,\u201d that\u2019s a \u201cdemand.\u201d What you\u2019re demanding is that you be allowed to redefine marriage and decide who lives and dies. Homosexuality isn\u2019t healthy, and abortion is murder. No to both! That\u2019s not \u201cdisgust,\u201d that\u2019s reason.<\/p>\n<p><i>Many evangelicals now won\u2019t believe anything that comes out of academia unless it\u2019s carefully curated to affirm their biases (PraegerU, Fox News, etc). So issues like climate change, CRT, progressive economics, psychology, vaccines, and others are all looked at as a power grab by dirty Democrat politicians. Trump rallied against them all and gained the love of the ignorant.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Critical Race Theory, Progressive Economics (Socialism), Psychology (Transgender, Safe Space, etc), Vaccines\u2026are often \u201ctaught\u201d as bottom lines. I\u2019m not \u201cbiased\u201d by being aware that there\u2019s a very compelling school of thought that challenges the substance of every one of those issues, as far as the way they\u2019re presented in academia. That\u2019s not being judgmental or ignorant, that\u2019s being reasonable. If you\u2019ve got a point, let\u2019s hear it, but don\u2019t try to assert the idea that because you\u2019re uncomfortable, you\u2019re automatically a priority. You have to be able to present proof and not just the voices of the professors who are telling you what you want to hear while simultaneously ignoring common sense, and the general reality of the human experience.<\/p>\n<p><i>So to summarize, Trump knew white Evangelical culture very well and said everything they wanted to hear in exactly the way they themselves said it. He truly was their guy, the representation of how they actually think. I\u2019m still an evangelical in matters of Scripture and the fundamental beliefs of Christianity, but I\u2019m strongly opposed to the caustic and ignorant nature that has set in when it comes to society and politics.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>I voted for President Trump because I wanted our borders to be secure. You\u2019re not a \u201cforeigner\u201d or a \u201cstranger\u201d when you come here illegally. You\u2019re not being \u201cmerciful\u201d or \u201cChristlike,\u201d when you refuse to obey the law, let alone enforce it (Rom 13:1\u20135).<\/p>\n<p>I voted for President Trump because I disagree with a Federal endorsement of abortion, I don\u2019t agree with men competing in women\u2019s sports, I fully support the elimination of Iran\u2019s nuclear capability, their ability to sponsor international terror, and the way in which they can hold the entire world hostage in the context of energy, and then using those profits to further expand their terrorist activity. As far as I\u2019m concerned, the only people who would consider my rationale as \u201ccaustic\u201d and \u201cignorant\u201d are those that don\u2019t like their tables turned over (Matt 21:12).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>So, I&#8217;m referencing Scripture, I&#8217;m providing a logical rebuttal, and explaining what I believe and why.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what he said&#8230;<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 90%; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #ccc; box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #ccc; height: 300px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10pt; margin: auto;\">\n<div style=\"height: 290px; overflow-y: scroll;\">\n<p><strong>Pastor:<\/strong> I\u2019m going to suggest getting out of your Fox News echo chamber and learn a little bit about the actual rationale and reasoning behind much of what you\u2019re against lest you lead your congregation into further spiritual darkness and destructive anger.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to hear me quote Scripture, here goes:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Love your neighbor as yourself. &#8211; It is the greatest commandment (along with love God). The story of the Good Samaritan teaches 2 things: 1 &#8211; my neighbor is whoever has needs and I can help.<\/li>\n<li>righteousness isn\u2019t about which group you are in, but rather what you do and why you do it. Every group that Trump spews hate at is my neighbor and yours too.<\/li>\n<li>He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. &#8211; I don\u2019t see anything about green cards or citizenship papers here. This list is repeated numerous times in Scripture, including in the Prophets as they explained why God destroyed Israel and let them be taken captive. Kindness to others is the single biggest mark of a Godly heart. The current GOP is categorically against all of this, and it\u2019s followers delight in news articles of ICE agents arresting and even shooting immigrants, separating families to put them in cages, cutting SNAP benefits that poor families depend on (many would meet the Biblical definition of widows\/orphan), and raising costs so that families can\u2019t afford necessities.<\/li>\n<li>You seem to have defined certain people as your enemy- Iran, illegal immigrants, probably most black and brown people too- so here\u2019s the last one- But I tell you love your enemies, do good to those who hurt you. &#8211; This is easily the most radical of Jesus\u2019 teachings and the most difficult to obey. When you support a politician who denigrates all Mexicans as rapists and murders, calls Haiti a shithole country, and publicly threatens to obliterate Iran, a nation of over 100 million people, you are failing at loving your enemy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>I could say a lot more, and would be willing to have a conversation with you if you\u2019d care to PM your contact info. Your response has a lot of the marks of the warped thinking that is so common in evangelical circles as we have isolated ourselves from the world and bought into a caricature of the Democrat party along with being selective about our moral commitments. Any pastor who continues to support Trump has some major spiritual blindness. I hope you can start working through some of the cultural baggage that has you thinking this way and \u201cbe transformed by the renewing of your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>So, rather than attempt to engage me according to the logic that I reinforce with Scripture, he asserts the idea that I&#8217;m just watching Fox News.<\/p>\n<p>He doesn&#8217;t acknowledge the difference between a neighbor and an intruder. Jesus uses the illustration of how anyone who doesn&#8217;t enter the sheep pen using the gate, but instead enters by some other way is a thief and a robber (Jn 10:1). He&#8217;s talking about Himself as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/commentaries\/matthew-henry-complete\/john\/10.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">door<\/a> by which a person is able to enter into the Kingdom of God. He&#8217;s communicating a spiritual truth using a common sense reality that everyone can understand: People who want help, knock. People who want trouble, break in.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s the same problem that was referenced in Part II. Loving your neighbor, at the very least, means that you are working to promote their welfare. You&#8217;re not doing that by enabling them to ignore the law, or by categorizing those who disobey those in authority as mere &#8220;strangers&#8221; (Lev 24:17-32; Rom 13:3-4).<\/p>\n<p>I emphasize the fact that it&#8217;s not your ethnicity, it&#8217;s your character that matters. I state my support for Trump is based on his policies which line up with biblical Absolutes and common sense perspectives, and he says I need stop leading my congregation into &#8220;further darkness and destructive anger.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mind you, I&#8217;m ordained, but I&#8217;m not preaching to a congregation every Sunday. My ordination happened when I was a Youth Pastor. I currently lead a Bible Study for adults, but his indictment is toxic, given the fact that he&#8217;s accusing me of being a false prophet.<\/p>\n<p>He goes as far as to say that I&#8217;m a racist because I maintain that border security is important and the rule of law is both fair, healthy, and biblical (Rom 13:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>So, I respond&#8230;<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 90%; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #ccc; box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #ccc; height: 300px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10pt; margin: auto;\">\n<div style=\"height: 290px; overflow-y: scroll;\">\n<p><b>Bruce<\/b> (the Pastor&#8217;s initial comments are in italics, my response is in plain text):<\/p>\n<p><em>Love your neighbor as yourself. &#8211; It is the greatest commandment (along with love God). The story of the Good Samaritan teaches 2 things: 1 &#8211; my neighbor is whoever has needs and I can help. 2 &#8211; righteousness isn\u2019t about which group you are in, but rather what you do and why you do it. Every group that Trump spews hate at is my neighbor and yours too.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Imagine you\u2019re the Good Samaritan. But instead of coming on the scene AFTER the thieves have beaten and robbed their victim, you come on the scene AS the thieves are beating and robbing their victim.<\/p>\n<p>Who\u2019s your neighbor in that scenario?<\/p>\n<p>How are you going to stop those thieves and not be accused of \u201chating\u201d them? And how do you plan on doing it? Given your disdain for ICE, what\u2019s your plan? (Rom 13:1\u20135)<\/p>\n<p><i>He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re not talking about \u201cforeigners,\u201d though, are we? We\u2019re talking about people who not only broke the law by coming here illegally, but did so with a criminal record. According to Immigration Law, due process is <a href=\"https:\/\/uscode.house.gov\/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title8-section1227&amp;num=0&amp;edition=prelim\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">immediate deportation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Who\u2019s the sinner? The person who broke the law by coming here illegally, or the person who\u2019s enforcing immigration law?<\/p>\n<p><i>Kindness to others is the single biggest mark of a Godly heart.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>No, obedience is the single biggest mark of a Godly heart (Jn 13:34\u201335).<\/p>\n<p><i>But I tell you love your enemies, do good to those who hurt you.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Pastor, I would encourage you to read Ecc 7:16\u201318.<\/p>\n<p>When Jesus overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple, was He \u201cloving\u201d them at that point?<\/p>\n<p>Did David love Goliath?<\/p>\n<p>Did Samuel \u201clove\u201d King Agag?<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a difference between loving your enemy and enabling them. Failing to stop them, however that needs to occur, is to be complicit in their wrongdoing. In that moment, what you want to position as piety is actually rebellion.<\/p>\n<p>The same God that commanded us to love our enemy is the same God that commanded Israel to defeat the Canaanites in the Conquest of the Promised Land. He also made a point of leaving some nations in tact in order to ensure those among the Hebrews who had yet to experience combat would have a chance to learn (Jud 3:1\u20132).<\/p>\n<p>God is not being inconsistent (Num 23:19). When He commanded us to love our enemy, He wasn\u2019t commanding us to be an accomplice. And that\u2019s exactly what you\u2019re doing when you fail to stop them, or discipline them, or arrest them. You mention widows. How about the widows who lost their husbands at the hand of an illegal immigrant who wasn\u2019t supposed to be here to begin with (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.gov\/keywords\/victims-immigration-crime-engagement-voice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) | Homeland Security<\/a>)?<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cforeigner,\u201d as he\u2019s referenced in Scripture, is a person who has chosen to live among the Israelites and abide by their rules. Their race, their gender &#8211; all of that is superfluous. It\u2019s their conduct that is to be evaluated. I\u2019ve referenced Rom 13:1\u20135 more than once and you don\u2019t seem to want to acknowledge that. As a result, you remain content believing that the rule of law is no rule at all. That\u2019s not consistent with common sense, let alone the whole of God\u2019s Word.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>By using the illustration of the Good Samaritan, I&#8217;m demonstrating that you can&#8217;t rightfully categorize everyone as your &#8220;neighbor,&#8221; given the reality of sin, which often manifests itself in criminal behavior. That&#8217;s not being hateful, that&#8217;s being discerning (Jn 7:24).<\/p>\n<p>I point out that by failing to make the distinction between someone who is breaking the law and someone who merely needs help is to be complicit in whatever wrongdoing is being accomplished (Lev 19:17; Rom 1:32; Jas 4:17). In other words, you&#8217;re watching someone break into your neighbor&#8217;s house, yet you insist that the thief is merely a guest.<\/p>\n<p>This Pastor insists that the authority that wields the sword is the enemy, despite what it says in Romans 13:4, that you are to obey those authorities that God has instituted.<\/p>\n<p>I point out that &#8220;love&#8221; is often manifested in the context of discipline and even lethal force in that, you&#8217;re not only promoting the welfare of your enemy by holding them accountable to a standard that prevents them from harming themselves and others, but also in the way you protect those you love by destroying those who constitute lethal threats (Ex 22:2; Rom 13:4; Acts 23:23-24).<\/p>\n<p>And this is what he said&#8230;<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 90%; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #ccc; box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #ccc; height: 300px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10pt; margin: auto;\">\n<div style=\"height: 290px; overflow-y: scroll;\">\n<p><strong>Pastor: <\/strong>That\u2019s some pretty twisted up thinking there. Not so much the Scriptures but in the assumptions about certain people and in the convenient \/ abusive way you\u2019ve defined certain terms like \u201cforeigner.\u201dI also see some straight racism in the comment about all illegals immigrants having criminal records which simply isn\u2019t true, yet another of Trump\u2019s lies to justify the abuse of non-white immigrants.<\/p>\n<p>Agreed, the rule of love does not require total pacifism. I never said it did. It does, however, require seeking the good of the one you love. Immigration policy is complicated and well beyond this topic, but our system is broken. No Democrat, not Biden or Harris or any other, wants open borders. Neither do I. But out of love for my neighbor, I don\u2019t support squads of untrained thugs dragging every resident out of an apartment building at night because there are a few illegal immigrants living among the citizens. There is a nuanced position on this that preserves kindness and patience while also protecting society from the abuse of criminals.<\/p>\n<p>So again, I\u2019m going to challenge you to step outside of your Trump loving echo chamber and weigh the words and actions of our leadership against Scripture without stacking the deck for them just because they promise to keep all the people you are scared of away. Godly people do not live in fear.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Now, I&#8217;m getting frustrated&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m a &#8220;racist&#8221; because I agree that you shouldn&#8217;t attempt to enter this country illegally.<\/p>\n<p>He refuses to make the distinction between immigrants and illegal immigrants.<\/p>\n<p>He refers to ICE Agents as &#8220;untrained thugs.&#8221; I don&#8217;t even bother with that, simply because no one was complaining about a lack of training or abusive tactics when this was happening during the Obama Administration, despite the fact that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/shorts\/5SHXYklOyt0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tom Holman<\/a> was in charge back then as he is now. Tactics and techniques haven&#8217;t changed. What has changed is the resolve to demonize those who enforcing immigration law.<\/p>\n<p>And again, you&#8217;re not loving &#8220;loving your neighbor&#8221; by enabling them to break the law, or by pretending that the rule of law is nonexistent. That&#8217;s not love, that&#8217;s neglect.<\/p>\n<p>So, I fire back&#8230;<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 90%; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #ccc; box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #ccc; height: 300px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10pt; margin: auto;\">\n<div style=\"height: 290px; overflow-y: scroll;\">\n<p><strong>Bruce: <\/strong>At one point the President had pictures of illegals who had criminal records that had been apprehended displayed on the <a href=\"https:\/\/spectrumlocalnews.com\/us\/snplus\/crime\/2025\/04\/28\/white-house-lawn-mug-shots\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">White House lawn<\/a>. That\u2019s not all illegals, is it? Racism is neither biblical nor anything other than heinous. I\u2019m not being racist, I\u2019m being fair. And as far as untrained thugs\u2026a nuanced position\u2026Why is it that Tom Holman gets the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ice.gov\/news\/releases\/ero-ead-thomas-homan-receives-2015-presidential-rank-award\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Presidential Rank Award<\/a> under Barack Obama and then gets demonized once he\u2019s serving under Trump?<\/p>\n<p>As far as ICE Agents storming an apartment \u201cjust because there are a few illegal immigrants living among the citizens.\u201d They\u2019re not \u201ca few illegal immigrants,\u201d are they? They\u2019re illegal immigrants with criminal records that were knowingly released by the prior administration that now have to deported (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hsgac.senate.gov\/media\/reps\/over-600-illegal-immigrants-with-prior-criminal-convictions-released-into-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Over 600 Illegal Immigrants with Prior Criminal Convictions Released into the U.S. &#8211; Committee on Homeland Security &amp; Governmental Affairs<\/a>). What is your \u201cnuanced\u201d approach? And how do you think your \u201cnuanced\u201d approach would resonate in the minds of the surviving family members who have been murdered and \/ or raped by an illegal immigrant?<\/p>\n<p>You want to dismiss me as being Racist. You\u2019ve implied that I have a flawed approach to Scripture, and that the only reason I maintain my perspective is because I\u2019m secretly afraid of people who look different than me.<\/p>\n<p>I asked you a question about the Good Samaritan scenario, and you didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n<p>I asked you who was sinning: The person who comes here illegally, or the person enforcing border security? You didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n<p>Have you ever travelled outside the country? Do you have any clue as to the kind of justice that you would exacted upon you if you tried to cross the border illegally? Do you not listen to the comments made by Barack Obama who insisted that anyone with a criminal record who comes here illegally needs to be deported? And in the same <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/clip\/white-house-event\/user-clip-obamas-immigration-speech\/4516399\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">speech<\/a> said anyone who crosses the border illegally, with or without a criminal record, will be caught and deported. He deported more illegals than any other President in history. Where was your indignation at that point?<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cBut out of love for my neighbor, I\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>But they\u2019re not <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">your<\/span> neighbor, are they? Compassion is easy when it costs you nothing, and being hypocritical is even easier when you\u2019re not responsible.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll leave you with this, Pastor: You\u2019re not making things better. You take verses out of context and use them to support the idea that \u201cloving your enemy\u201d effectively replaces confrontation, criticism, and conviction. You place yourself on the bench, and then criticize those who are still on the field, protecting you and your disregard for Rom 13:1\u20135.<\/p>\n<p>You may not like President Trump, but he\u2019s delivering on everything he promised to do. As far as a I can tell, you see justice as abuse. You favor the villain over the victim, and you justify your nonsensical perspective on a resolve to believe that loving your enemy equates to enabling them.<\/p>\n<p>The good news is that I\u2019m using your thoughts in a Bible Study tonite and I\u2019ll shoot you the outline\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Did you catch that question I asked that he didn&#8217;t answer? &#8220;Who was sinning: The person who comes here illegally, or the person enforcing border security?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re building to a succinct collection of bottom lines that we&#8217;ll look at in just a minute.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s his last comment&#8230;<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 90%; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #ccc; box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #ccc; height: 165px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10pt; margin: auto; margin-bottom: 15px;\">\n<div style=\"height: 150px; overflow-y: scroll;\">\n<p>Wow, the confidence of complete isolation from facts is stunning.If you can\u2019t separate kindness and cruelty from abstract policy, you aren\u2019t worth talking to.<\/p>\n<p>If you can call anything Trump had done this year \u201csuccess,\u201d you are too misinformed to participate in an adult conversation.<\/p>\n<p>As for not responding to certain things you said, I\u2019ll simply say that some thoughts are worth putting mental energy into, and some simply aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Recap<\/h3>\n<p>Talking to this Pastor, and anyone who thinks like him, can be exasperating. You enumerate facts, you cite the laws that apply, you refer to specific Scriptures and, in their mind, they can dismiss every bit of it simply by saying, &#8220;&#8230;you aren&#8217;t worth talking to.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>What they really mean is that they don&#8217;t want to talk to you because of your capacity to reveal their logic as being fundamentally flawed.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a recap&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It&#8217;s not &#8220;hate&#8221; to rightfully identify illegal \/ sinful behavior (Lk 17:3; Rom 13:4-5).<\/li>\n<li>You&#8217;re not being Christlike by ignoring fraud (Prov 6:12-19; 11:1).<\/li>\n<li>Foreigners and strangers are biblically commanded to obey the law (Lev 24:17-22)<\/li>\n<li>You are not &#8220;loving your neighbor&#8221; by encouraging them to ignore those laws that apply to them (Rom 13:3-4).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Conclusion: What Did Jesus Do?<\/h3>\n<p>While the latter part of the discussion focused primarily on illegal immigrants, this Pastor was addressing everything from Race to Capitalism to Education, insisting that every criticism coming from a Conservative mindset was uninformed, racist, and inconsistent with the Bible in general.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What would Jesus do?&#8221; is often cited by Liberals and like minded Christians who want to insist that any kind of evaluation is rooted in prejudice and is therefore both irrelevant and immoral.<\/p>\n<p>But the real question is &#8220;What <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">did<\/span> Jesus do?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Like what was referenced in Part I, He judged, He criticized, He got angry, He called out hypocrisy and sin. That side of Jesus is largely ignored by people who want to pretend that there are no Standards, only situations, and there are no Principles, only preferences.<\/p>\n<p>You love your enemy by promoting their welfare, which is ultimately manifested in the way you direct them to Christ. You don&#8217;t do that by enabling their wrongdoing or dismissing their sinful behavior. Grace means nothing without first acknowledging yourself as someone who needs to be forgiven. If there is no standard, then there is no sin. If there is no sin, there&#8217;s no need for grace.<\/p>\n<p>What did Jesus do?<\/p>\n<p>He made grace attractive by first making it necessary.<\/p>\n<p>Your enemy is not always approachable. In war, you simply have to stop them. &#8220;Love&#8221; in that context is gauged more in the context of the life you are protecting rather than the life you are taking. A thief has to be subdued before he can be enlightened.<\/p>\n<p>But an enemy that can be influenced will not see grace as attractive until he first sees it as something necessary. His perception of his iniquity is hindered when you say it doesn&#8217;t exist, just like his hope to be forgiven can be discouraged when you insist it isn&#8217;t deserved.<\/p>\n<p>Loving your enemy, then, is to acknowledge the reality of his sin in a way that points them to Christ. You don&#8217;t enable their sin, you don&#8217;t ignore their crime. You address it in a way where God can reveal their sin, and then offer them the grace they now know they need.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 45%; margin-bottom: 15px; height: 100px; border: 1px solid #ccc; margin: auto; box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #ccc; font-size: 9pt; text-align: center; border-top-left-radius: 10pt; border-top-right-radius: 10pt;\">\n<div style=\"width: 100%; padding: 10px; border-top-left-radius: 10pt; border-top-right-radius: 10pt; background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;\">What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy?<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 10px; overflow-x: scroll; white-space: nowrap; overflow-y: hidden; width: 100%;\"><a style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #000; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;\" href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4633\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy: Part I<\/a> \u2022 <a style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #000; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;\" href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4641\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy: Part II<\/a> \u2022 <a style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #000; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;\" href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4660\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy: Part III<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><div class='post_delimiter'><\/div><\/div><div class=\"post_author_timeline\"><\/div><span class='hidden'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='url'>https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/new_logo_rgb_blog.jpg<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='height'>324<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='width'>800<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"publisher\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Organization\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='name'>Bruce Gust<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='logo' itemscope itemtype='https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='url'>https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/mc_logo_plain-300x138.jpg<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"author\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Person\" ><span itemprop='name'>Bruce Gust<\/span><\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"datePublished\" datetime=\"2026-06-19T10:14:44+00:00\" >2026-06-19 10:14:44<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"dateModified\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/dateModified\" >2026-06-19 10:49:23<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"mainEntityOfPage\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/mainEntityOfPage\" ><span itemprop='name'>What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy?  | Part IIII<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/article><article class=\"post-entry post-entry-type-standard post-entry-4641 post-loop-4 post-parity-even single-big with-slider post-4641 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-current-events category-discipleship category-muscular-christianity category-politics tag-compromise tag-loving-your-enemy tag-what-would-jesus-do\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" ><div class=\"big-preview single-big\"  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4641\"  title=\"new_logo_rgb_blog\" ><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"321\" src=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/new_logo_rgb_blog-800x321.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-3285 avia-img-lazy-loading-3285 attachment-entry_with_sidebar size-entry_with_sidebar wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"blog-meta\"><\/div><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix standard-content'><header class=\"entry-content-header\" aria-label=\"Post: What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy? | Part II\"><h2 class='post-title entry-title '  itemprop=\"headline\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4641\" rel=\"bookmark\" title=\"Permanent Link: What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy? | Part II\">What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy? | Part II<span class=\"post-format-icon minor-meta\"><\/span><\/a><\/h2><span class=\"post-meta-infos\"><time class=\"date-container minor-meta updated\"  itemprop=\"datePublished\" datetime=\"2026-06-18T19:54:43+00:00\" >June 18, 2026<\/time><span class=\"text-sep\">\/<\/span><span class=\"blog-categories minor-meta\">in <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=42\" rel=\"tag\">Current Events<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=22\" rel=\"tag\">Discipleship<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=27\" rel=\"tag\">Muscular Christianity<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=41\" rel=\"tag\">Politics<\/a><\/span><span class=\"text-sep\">\/<\/span><span class=\"blog-author minor-meta\">by <span class=\"entry-author-link\"  itemprop=\"author\" ><span class=\"author\"><span class=\"fn\"><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?author=1\" rel=\"author\">Bruce Gust<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/header><div class=\"entry-content\"  itemprop=\"text\" ><h3>Neither Biblical nor Noble<\/h3>\n<p>This is Part 2 of a 3 part series where we&#8217;re looking at how you are to love your enemy.<\/p>\n<p>When you remain silent in the face of evil, you&#8217;re able to effectively insulate yourself from the attacks that come from those who want to silence anyone who would dare to point out their sinister actions and intent.<\/p>\n<p>However sinful it may be (Gal 2:11-21; Jas 4:17), it&#8217;s an alluring way to remain on the sidelines so as to avoid the real conflict that&#8217;s happening on the field and the opposition you would otherwise have to contend with.<\/p>\n<p>But when you look at Scripture as a whole, you are compelled to concede that remaining either silent or accommodating is neither biblical let alone noble.<\/p>\n<p>These days, Politics and Current Events tend to be processed according to two very different worldviews.<\/p>\n<p>One sees evil as something to be accommodated, the other sees it as something to be resisted.<\/p>\n<p>Those who see evil as something that needs to be accommodated need to position it as something to pity. You don&#8217;t have to get someone to agree with you if you can get them to feel sorry for you.<\/p>\n<p>You see that often in the Bible beginning in Genesis 3 when the serpent suggests to Eve that God is both afraid and resentful:<\/p>\n<p class=\"chapter-1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span class=\"text Gen-3-1\">Now the serpent\u00a0was more crafty than any of the wild animals the\u00a0<span class=\"small-caps\">Lord<\/span>\u00a0God had made. He said to the woman, \u201cDid God really say, \u2018You must not eat from any tree in the garden\u2019?\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span id=\"en-NIV-58\" class=\"text Gen-3-2\"><sup class=\"versenum\">2\u00a0<\/sup>The woman said to the serpent, \u201cWe may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-59\" class=\"text Gen-3-3\"><sup class=\"versenum\">3\u00a0<\/sup>but God did say, \u2018You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span id=\"en-NIV-60\" class=\"text Gen-3-4\"><sup class=\"versenum\">4\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cYou will not certainly die,\u201d the serpent said to the woman.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-61\" class=\"text Gen-3-5\"><sup class=\"versenum\">5\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cFor God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.\u201d (Gen 3:1-5)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Satan begins by suggesting that God had denied Adam and Even the ability to eat from <em>any<\/em> tree, He asserts the idea that God is unnecessarily harsh, which, by default, makes Adam and Eve victims of an overbearing administration. Then in verse 5 he suggests that God is secretly intimidated at the thought of Adam and Eve becoming more than what they are right now.<\/p>\n<p>What was a generous provision is now seen as an unnecessary restriction imposed by a mindset characterized by fear and hate.<\/p>\n<h3>Poison Disguised as a Courtesy<\/h3>\n<p>However obvious it may be from a distance, it can be difficult to see up close because of the way compliance with an evil premise is often justified as an act of compassion.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Aaron&#8217;s part in building the golden calf (Ex 32:22-23)<\/li>\n<li>Israel&#8217;s demand for a king (1 Sam 8:6-9)<\/li>\n<li>Saul disobeys God by sparing King Agag and the best of the livestock (1 Sam 15:7-10)<\/li>\n<li>King Herod&#8217;s request to the Magi to tell him where Jesus was born (Matt 2:7-8, 13)<\/li>\n<li>Judas complaining about the perfume used to anoint Christ, saying that it should&#8217;ve been sold and the money given to the poor (Jn 12:1-8)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In each of the above scenarios, you have a situation where sin was concealed as a healthy and logical compromise. But what appeared to be rational and even noble, was a poison disguised as a courtesy.<\/p>\n<h3>The Right Questions<\/h3>\n<p>While discerning the difference between a legitimate request for mercy and a selfish demand for immunity is not always easy, you can gain some visibility into what&#8217;s actually the case by asking the <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=3413\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">right questions<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Accusations can be denied, and facts can be disputed. But a simple question left insufficiently answered cannot be ignored. With the right question, you&#8217;re able to proceed directly to that place where there&#8217;s either an answer or an excuse, and that&#8217;s an important dynamic to have in place in order to prevent a lie from being embraced as the truth.<\/p>\n<p>Today&#8217;s political climate is frequently punctuated with soundbytes and snapshots that are presented as holistic perspectives on a particular issue. The result is a toxic environment where falsehoods are concealed behind cries for compassion and anything that has the capacity to reveal the truth is demonized as ignorant and tyrannical.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the following was circulated on Social Media as an attempt to accuse anyone who supports the current administration as being less than Christlike. However compelling it may appear to be on the surface, its flaws from both a biblical and logical perspective are revealed simply by asking the right questions.<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;ll see the original post on the left with the &#8220;right questions&#8221; listed on the right.<\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 85%; margin: auto; border-collapse: separate; background-color: #fff; box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #ccc; border-radius: 10pt;\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #000; text-align: center; border-top-left-radius: 10pt; color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; width: 50%;\">post<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #000; text-align: center; border-top-right-radius: 10pt; font-weight: bold; color: #ffffff;\">the right questions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"2\">\n<div style=\"width: 99%; padding: 10px; height: 150px; overflow-y: scroll;\">\n<p>Through the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/02\/establishment-of-the-white-house-faith-office\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">White House Office of Faith<\/a>, the Trump administration has racked up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/releases\/2025\/09\/president-trumps-top-100-victories-for-people-of-faith\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">several significant accomplishments<\/a> on behalf of America&#8217;s faith based community which include:<\/p>\n<p>Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias &#8211; In 2023, the Biden Administration labeled people of faith as domestic terror threats for opposing abortion and transgender ideologies. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ib4nO4umj6o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Paulette Harlow<\/a>, a 75 year old grandmother confined to a wheel chair was arrested for &#8220;obstructing&#8221; an Abortion Clinic and sentenced to 2 years in prison. This was typical of the Biden DOJ. The Trump Administration, through the &#8220;White House Office of Faith&#8221; pardoned Harlow as well as several others who were imprisoned for their &#8220;terrorist&#8221; activities.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Veterans Affairs rescinded a Biden-era speech code that censored the sermons of military chaplains &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/firstliberty.org\/cases\/chaplain-russell-rusty-trubey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Russell Trubey<\/a> was a chaplain in a Pennsylvania VA medical center for 10 years. After delivering a sermon at the center\u2019s chapel on Romans 1, police approached him alleging complaints were reported about the content of his message. He was removed from his duties and reassigned to stock shelves in the hospital. The Trump Administration <a href=\"https:\/\/firstliberty.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Trubey-VA-Letter-4.2.25.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rescinded<\/a> that action and reinforced the fact that chaplains can preach in accordance with their faith without fear of persecution.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/05\/establishment-of-the-religious-liberty-commission\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Establishment of the Religious Liberty Commission<\/a> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/cbs4local.com\/news\/nation-world\/christian-trade-schools-heavily-penalized-under-biden-administration-report-finds-american-principles-project-director-of-policy-jon-schweppe-grand-canyon-university-and-liberty-university\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Compelling statistics<\/a> reveal a disproportionate bias against Christian universities during the Biden era. Outrageous fines that were, in some instances, the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.gcu.edu\/gcu-news\/u-s-department-of-education-rescinds-record-fine-with-prejudice-against-grand-canyon-university\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">largest dollar amounts in history<\/a>, were levied against faith based colleges for identical infractions committed by secular institutions that were not punished to the same extent. This anomaly was seen, not just in academia, but in a number of instances pertaining to funding and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4548643\/biden-irs-discrimination-christian-groups-doj\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tax exempt status<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For a complete listing of the Trump Administration&#8217;s accomplishments in the context of faith based initiatives, click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/releases\/2025\/09\/president-trumps-top-100-victories-for-people-of-faith\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>You can\u2019t spend Sunday morning in church praising Jesus, talking about love, compassion, mercy, humility, honesty, and caring for the vulnerable, then spend Sunday afternoon defending an administration that does the exact opposite.<\/td>\n<td>Are you being being like Christ by insisting that everyone who is breaking into your neighbor&#8217;s house is only doing so because they&#8217;re hungry? And how are you not being hypocritical if you&#8217;re telling your nethat they should leave its doors open when yours are locked and you&#8217;ve got a security system in place?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>And before someone says, \u201cBut I\u2019m a Republican,\u201d let me remind you of something: God doesn\u2019t serve political parties. Jesus didn\u2019t die for Democrats. Jesus didn\u2019t die for Republicans. He didn\u2019t wear a red hat or a blue one. He didn\u2019t tell people to pick a team and hate the other side. He called people to love their neighbor, care for the poor, welcome the stranger, seek truth, show mercy, and hold the powerful accountable. You can\u2019t praise the Good Samaritan while cheering policies that target immigrants and asylum seekers.<\/td>\n<td>Is it against the law to enter this country illegally?<\/p>\n<p>How were the &#8220;foreigners&#8221; and &#8220;strangers&#8221; in Scripture treated when they broke the law? (Lev 24:17-22)<\/p>\n<p>Loving your enemy, at the very least, means that you are working to promote their welfare. How are you doing that by enabling their illegal behavior?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>You can\u2019t celebrate \u201clove thy neighbor\u201d while mocking the poor, cutting assistance for struggling families, and treating human suffering like a political talking point. You can\u2019t talk about protecting children while separating families, demonizing entire communities, and creating fear as a governing strategy.<\/td>\n<td>How am I &#8220;loving my neighbor&#8221; by ignoring fraud?<\/p>\n<p>Why are you blaming law enforcement for separating families when it was the parents who put their families in that position to begin with?<\/p>\n<p>Is it not common for guilty people to be afraid of being caught (Rom 13:3-4)?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Jesus fed the hungry. He didn\u2019t ask for their paperwork first. Jesus healed the sick. He didn\u2019t check their political party. Jesus stood with the marginalized. He didn\u2019t use them as campaign props. Jesus challenged the powerful. He didn\u2019t worship them. This administration has normalized cruelty, retaliation, greed, vengeance, dishonesty, scapegoating, and the constant division of Americans against one another. It attacks journalists, demonizes opponents, mocks compassion as weakness, treats empathy as a flaw, and encourages people to view fellow Americans as enemies rather than neighbors.<\/td>\n<td>How would you expect someone who&#8217;s guilty of fraud and deceit to react when they&#8217;re revealed for who and what they are?<\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s the purpose of division according to 1 Corinthians 11:19?<\/p>\n<p>Which party is it that refers to its opponents as <a href=\"https:\/\/katv.com\/news\/nation-world\/michigan-dem-party-leader-claims-trump-supporters-are-nazis-we-dont-owe-you-respect-bill-swift-lenawee-county-elon-musk-donald-trump-white-house-detroit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nazis<\/a>?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Ask yourself honestly: are those the values being demonstrated? Or are we seeing anger, fear, revenge, hostility, insults, loyalty tests, culture wars, and endless outrage? You don\u2019t have to be a Democrat to see it. You don\u2019t have to be liberal to see it. You just have to compare what Jesus taught with what this administration celebrates.<\/td>\n<td>Does love delight in evil? And is it not evil to ignore the rule of law (Rom 13:4)?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border-bottom-left-radius: 10pt;\">If your politics require you to ignore cruelty, excuse corruption, justify lies, or abandon compassion, then politics has become your religion and your politician has become your idol. God doesn\u2019t have a political team. Jesus doesn\u2019t wear a campaign hat.<\/td>\n<td style=\"bottom-bottom-right-radius: 10pt;\">What does the Bible say about a fool&#8217;s reaction to discipline (Prov 15:7, 10)?<\/p>\n<p>If truth is whatever an individual wants to believe, then how else would they react to correction if not by labeling it as cruel, corrupt, and lacking in compassion?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>And no politician is important enough to place above the values you claim to believe in every Sunday morning.<\/td>\n<td>Why would I not support a politician who enforces the rule of law, deploys a foreign policy that&#8217;s characterized by actions and not just words, and calls out falsehoods when he sees them?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<div style=\"width: 45%; margin-bottom: 15px; height: 100px; border: 1px solid #ccc; margin: auto; box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #ccc; font-size: 9pt; text-align: center; border-top-left-radius: 10pt; border-top-right-radius: 10pt; margin-top: 25px;\">\n<div style=\"width: 100%; padding: 10px; border-top-left-radius: 10pt; border-top-right-radius: 10pt; background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;\">What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy?<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 10px; overflow-x: scroll; white-space: nowrap; overflow-y: hidden; width: 100%;\"><a style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #000; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;\" href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4633\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy: Part I<\/a> \u2022 <a style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #000; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;\" href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4641\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy: Part II<\/a> \u2022 <a style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #000; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;\" href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4660\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy: Part III<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><div class='post_delimiter'><\/div><\/div><div class=\"post_author_timeline\"><\/div><span class='hidden'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='url'>https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/new_logo_rgb_blog.jpg<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='height'>324<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='width'>800<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"publisher\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Organization\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='name'>Bruce Gust<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='logo' itemscope itemtype='https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='url'>https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/mc_logo_plain-300x138.jpg<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"author\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Person\" ><span itemprop='name'>Bruce Gust<\/span><\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"datePublished\" datetime=\"2026-06-18T19:54:43+00:00\" >2026-06-18 19:54:43<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"dateModified\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/dateModified\" >2026-06-25 19:01:04<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"mainEntityOfPage\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/mainEntityOfPage\" ><span itemprop='name'>What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy? | Part II<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/article><article class=\"post-entry post-entry-type-standard post-entry-4618 post-loop-5 post-parity-odd single-big with-slider post-4618 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-uncategorized tag-band-director tag-coach tag-military tag-musicians tag-teacher tag-worship-pastor\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" ><div class=\"big-preview single-big\"  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4618\"  title=\"Screenshot 2026-06-16 at 7.40.28\u202fPM\" ><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"808\" height=\"321\" src=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-16-at-7.40.28-PM-808x321.png\" class=\"wp-image-4656 avia-img-lazy-loading-4656 attachment-entry_with_sidebar size-entry_with_sidebar wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"blog-meta\"><\/div><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix standard-content'><header class=\"entry-content-header\" aria-label=\"Post: Three Kinds of Musicians\"><h2 class='post-title entry-title '  itemprop=\"headline\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4618\" rel=\"bookmark\" title=\"Permanent Link: Three Kinds of Musicians\">Three Kinds of Musicians<span class=\"post-format-icon minor-meta\"><\/span><\/a><\/h2><span class=\"post-meta-infos\"><time class=\"date-container minor-meta updated\"  itemprop=\"datePublished\" datetime=\"2026-06-17T00:42:03+00:00\" >June 17, 2026<\/time><span class=\"text-sep\">\/<\/span><span class=\"blog-categories minor-meta\">in <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=1\" rel=\"tag\">Uncategorized<\/a><\/span><span class=\"text-sep\">\/<\/span><span class=\"blog-author minor-meta\">by <span class=\"entry-author-link\"  itemprop=\"author\" ><span class=\"author\"><span class=\"fn\"><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?author=1\" rel=\"author\">Bruce Gust<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/header><div class=\"entry-content\"  itemprop=\"text\" ><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-4656\" src=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-16-at-7.40.28-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"403\" height=\"289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-16-at-7.40.28-PM.png 808w, https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-16-at-7.40.28-PM-300x215.png 300w, https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-16-at-7.40.28-PM-768x550.png 768w, https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-16-at-7.40.28-PM-260x185.png 260w, https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-16-at-7.40.28-PM-705x505.png 705w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 403px) 100vw, 403px\" \/>There are three kinds of musicians:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Let me hear it<\/span> &#8211; the first category is the player that doesn&#8217;t read music and will approach a song in a way that is utterly dependent on the way it was recorded. In some cases, they&#8217;re entry level players\u00a0 who will often reduce those things that are technically demanding to something more manageable, just so they can &#8220;sound&#8221; competent. Some of those who play by ear are excellent musicians, but nevertheless are uncomfortable when you put any kind of sheet music in front of them because of their unfamiliarity with musical notation.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Let me at it<\/span> &#8211; the second category can &#8220;shred.&#8221; They&#8217;ve got all kinds of chops and are looking for any opportunity to insert their new lick, regardless of whether or not it serves the song. They are are technically proficient, and have an enthusiastic attitude, but are musically immature and will often play in a way that draws more attention to themselves rather than the substance of the song they&#8217;re playing.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Let me play it<\/span> &#8211; the third category takes what&#8217;s on the page and performs it in a way that communicates in a way that goes beyond what&#8217;s heard. All of the technical expertise of the musician is used to ensure the lyric \/ melody is allowed to speak directly into the heart of the individual that&#8217;s listening.<\/p>\n<p>All three of these &#8220;musicians&#8221; require a different approach when you&#8217;re tasked with directing their energies in a positive direction. You want to affirm their strengths and respect both their enthusiasm and their effort as you show them what you want to hear.<\/p>\n<p>If you don&#8217;t make that effort to tailor your direction in a way that conforms to the category they belong to, your content gets overwhelmed by your delivery and you&#8217;re not leading people anymore, now you&#8217;re just irritating and insulting them.<\/p>\n<p>Proverbs 25:11 says:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken at the right time. (Prov 25:11 [AMP])<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s not just tact, it&#8217;s respect. And with that respect, comes a positive result. Otherwise, whatever results you get are going to be less than what you want.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re commanded in Scripture to be respectful.<\/p>\n<p>As parents, we&#8217;re told not to exasperate our kids:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Eph 6:4 [NIV]).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">You can see the point that is being made more vividly by looking at the same Scripture in the Amplified version:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to the point of resentment with demands that are trivial or unreasonable or humiliating or abusive; nor by showing favoritism or indifference to any of them], but bring them up [tenderly, with lovingkindness] in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Eph 6:4 [AMP])<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When we&#8217;re trying to communicate the Substance of the gospel, we&#8217;re told to do it with gentleness and respect:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with\u00a0gentleness\u00a0and\u00a0respect, (1 Pet 3:15)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As leaders, you want to set the example by not using your authority to force your will, but to look out for their best interests:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span id=\"en-NIV-30468\" class=\"text 1Pet-5-2\"><sup class=\"versenum\">2\u00a0<\/sup>Be shepherds of God\u2019s flock\u00a0that is under your care, watching over them\u2014not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be;\u00a0not pursuing dishonest gain,\u00a0but eager to serve;<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-30469\" class=\"text 1Pet-5-3\"><sup class=\"versenum\">3\u00a0<\/sup>not lording it over\u00a0those entrusted to you, but being examples\u00a0to the flock.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-30470\" class=\"text 1Pet-5-4\"><sup class=\"versenum\">4\u00a0<\/sup>And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. (1 Pet 5:2-4 [ see also Ez 34:1-4; Matt 20:25-28])<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Anytime you&#8217;re tasked with leading another person or a group of individuals, you have two responsibilities. Your first responsibility is to lead them in a positive direction. Your second responsibility is to lead in a positive way. Simply telling someone that they &#8220;should&#8221; do something, isn&#8217;t the same as leading a person in a way where they &#8220;want&#8221; to do something.<\/p>\n<p>That doesn&#8217;t mean you&#8217;ll never encounter difficult people who don&#8217;t want to be led, or taught (Neh 9:16). And sometimes the situation doesn&#8217;t lend itself to anything other than a need to obey immediately (Gen 19:26). But solid leadership is characterized by a servant&#8217;s heart and an approach that takes the time to consider, not just what needs to be said, but the way it needs to be said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><div class='post_delimiter'><\/div><\/div><div class=\"post_author_timeline\"><\/div><span class='hidden'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='url'>https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-16-at-7.40.28-PM.png<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='height'>579<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='width'>808<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"publisher\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Organization\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='name'>Bruce Gust<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='logo' itemscope itemtype='https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='url'>https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/mc_logo_plain-300x138.jpg<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"author\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Person\" ><span itemprop='name'>Bruce Gust<\/span><\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"datePublished\" datetime=\"2026-06-17T00:42:03+00:00\" >2026-06-17 00:42:03<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"dateModified\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/dateModified\" >2026-06-17 00:42:03<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"mainEntityOfPage\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/mainEntityOfPage\" ><span itemprop='name'>Three Kinds of Musicians<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/article><article class=\"post-entry post-entry-type-standard post-entry-4633 post-loop-6 post-parity-even post-entry-last single-big with-slider post-4633 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-current-events category-discipleship category-politics tag-homosexuality tag-illegal-immigration tag-iran tag-love-your-enemy\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" ><div class=\"big-preview single-big\"  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4633\"  title=\"new_logo_rgb_blog\" ><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"321\" src=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/new_logo_rgb_blog-800x321.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-3285 avia-img-lazy-loading-3285 attachment-entry_with_sidebar size-entry_with_sidebar wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"blog-meta\"><\/div><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix standard-content'><header class=\"entry-content-header\" aria-label=\"Post: What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy? | Part I\"><h2 class='post-title entry-title '  itemprop=\"headline\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4633\" rel=\"bookmark\" title=\"Permanent Link: What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy? | Part I\">What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy? | Part I<span class=\"post-format-icon minor-meta\"><\/span><\/a><\/h2><span class=\"post-meta-infos\"><time class=\"date-container minor-meta updated\"  itemprop=\"datePublished\" datetime=\"2026-06-11T22:49:49+00:00\" >June 11, 2026<\/time><span class=\"text-sep\">\/<\/span><span class=\"blog-categories minor-meta\">in <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=42\" rel=\"tag\">Current Events<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=22\" rel=\"tag\">Discipleship<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?cat=41\" rel=\"tag\">Politics<\/a><\/span><span class=\"text-sep\">\/<\/span><span class=\"blog-author minor-meta\">by <span class=\"entry-author-link\"  itemprop=\"author\" ><span class=\"author\"><span class=\"fn\"><a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?author=1\" rel=\"author\">Bruce Gust<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/header><div class=\"entry-content\"  itemprop=\"text\" ><h3>What Does it Mean?<\/h3>\n<p>What does it mean to love your enemy?<\/p>\n<p>There are some people who believe that Christ&#8217;s command to love one&#8217;s enemy means to encourage and applaud them, regardless of their behavior.<\/p>\n<p>Consider the following:<\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 85%; margin: auto; border-collapse: separate; background-color: #fff; box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #ccc; border-radius: 10pt;\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #000; text-align: center; border-top-left-radius: 10pt; color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; width: 35%;\">command<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #000; text-align: center; border-top-right-radius: 10pt; font-weight: bold; color: #ffffff;\">verse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Do not resist an evil person. Turn the other cheek, do not resist, go the extra mile<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\"><sup>38<\/sup> \u201cYou have heard that it was said, \u2018Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.&#8217; <sup>39<\/sup> But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. <sup>40<\/sup> And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. <sup>41<\/sup> If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. <sup>42<\/sup> Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (Matt 5:38-40)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Do not judge<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">Do not judge, or you too will be judged. (Matt 7:1)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Don&#8217;t be critical<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Eph 4:29)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Don&#8217;t be angry<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\"><sup class=\"versenum\">19\u00a0<\/sup>My dear brothers and sisters,\u00a0take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak\u00a0and slow to become angry,\u00a0<sup class=\"versenum\">20\u00a0<\/sup>because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. (Jas 1:19-20)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border-bottom-left-radius: 10pt;\">Love your enemy, pray for those who persecute you<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom-right-radius: 10pt; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;\"><sup>43<\/sup> \u201cYou have heard that it was said, \u2018Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.\u2019 <sup>44<\/sup> But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, <sup>45<\/sup> that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. <sup>46<\/sup> If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? <sup>47<\/sup> And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? <sup>48<\/sup> Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt 5:43-48)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>If we stop right here, then it&#8217;s very reasonable to believe that, when it comes to those who qualify as our &#8220;enemy,&#8221; we should never direct towards them any criticism or correction. Anything that has the potential to make them feel uncomfortable is at least cruel if not contrary to the Word of God.<\/p>\n<p>And what makes it even more compelling is that when you look at the word &#8220;love,&#8221; as it&#8217;s used in Luke 10:27 where we&#8217;re told to &#8220;love the Lord your God&#8230;,&#8221; it&#8217;s the same word in the Greek:<\/p>\n<p>Agape.<\/p>\n<p>Agape love is described as:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>&#8230;the goodwill and benevolence of God shown in self-sacrifice and an unconditional commitment to the loved one. Agape is similar to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gotquestions.org\/meaning-of-hesed.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">chesed<\/a> in that it is steadfast, regardless of circumstances. Agape love is the kind of love we are to have for God in fulfillment of the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37). Jesus wants to instill agape in His followers as we serve others through the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 22:39; John 13:34)<\/em> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gotquestions.org\/definition-of-love.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gotquestions.org<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>So, we are to love God, each other, and our enemies with &#8220;agape&#8221; love which, incidentally, is the same word that describes the kind of love God has for us.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span id=\"en-NIV-26665\" class=\"text John-13-34\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">34\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cA new command\u00a0I give you: <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Love<\/span> one another.\u00a0As I have l<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">oved<\/span> you, so you must love one another.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-26666\" class=\"text John-13-35\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">35\u00a0<\/sup>By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">love<\/span> one another.\u201d (Jn 13:34-35)<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If &#8220;love&#8221; is nothing more than a perpetual affirmation of a person, then it would follow that nothing is inappropriate or deserving of condemnation. After all, we&#8217;re not supposed to judge (Matt 7:1), which further reinforces the idea that there&#8217;s no room for any kind of criticism in the heart of a true follower of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>No one is immoral, there are no criminals, there are no threats, borders, or opponents. There is only love and acceptance.<\/p>\n<h3>Real Love in Action<\/h3>\n<p>But you find yourself having to reevaluate that perspective when you consider the way love is defined in 1 Corinthians 13:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span id=\"en-NIV-28670\" class=\"text 1Cor-13-4\"><sup class=\"versenum\">4\u00a0<\/sup>Love is patient,\u00a0love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-28671\" class=\"text 1Cor-13-5\"><sup class=\"versenum\">5\u00a0<\/sup>It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,\u00a0it is not easily angered,\u00a0it keeps no record of wrongs.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-28672\" class=\"text 1Cor-13-6\"><sup class=\"versenum\">6\u00a0<\/sup>Love does not delight in evil\u00a0but rejoices with the truth.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-28673\" class=\"text 1Cor-13-7\"><sup class=\"versenum\">7\u00a0<\/sup>It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Cor 13:4-7)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Agape love doesn&#8217;t delight in evil. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/commentaries\/matthew-henry-complete\/1-corinthians\/13.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Matthew Henry&#8217;s Commentary<\/a> elaborates on that by saying, &#8220;It is the very height of malice to take pleasure in the misery of a fellow-creature. And is not falling into sin the greatest calamity that can befal one? How inconsistent is it with Christian charity, to rejoice at such fall!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>So, it makes sense, then, that, if you love your enemy, you&#8217;re going to promote their welfare by helping them avoid the consequences of sin.<\/p>\n<p>And how do you do that?<\/p>\n<p>Well, how did Jesus do it?<\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 85%; margin: auto; border-collapse: separate; background-color: #fff; box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #ccc; border-radius: 10pt;\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #000; text-align: center; border-top-left-radius: 10pt; color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; width: 35%;\">the actions of Christ<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #000; text-align: center; border-top-right-radius: 10pt; font-weight: bold; color: #ffffff;\">verse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>He resisted evil<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">\n<div style=\"height: 100px; overflow-y: scroll; padding: 10px;\">\n<p><span class=\"text Matt-23-13\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">13\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWoe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!\u00a0You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people\u2019s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23933\" class=\"text Matt-23-14\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">[14]\u00a0<\/sup><sup class=\"footnote\" data-fn=\"#fen-NIV-23933b\" data-link=\"[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-NIV-23933b&quot; title=&quot;See footnote b&quot;&gt;b&lt;\/a&gt;]\">[<a title=\"See footnote b\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%2023&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-23933b\">b<\/a>]<\/sup><\/span><\/span><span id=\"en-NIV-23934\" class=\"text Matt-23-15\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">15\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWoe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert,\u00a0and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell\u00a0as you are.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-23935\" class=\"text Matt-23-16\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">16\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWoe to you, blind guides!\u00a0You say, \u2018If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.\u2019<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23936\" class=\"text Matt-23-17\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">17\u00a0<\/sup>You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23937\" class=\"text Matt-23-18\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">18\u00a0<\/sup>You also say, \u2018If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.\u2019<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23938\" class=\"text Matt-23-19\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">19\u00a0<\/sup>You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23939\" class=\"text Matt-23-20\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">20\u00a0<\/sup>Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23940\" class=\"text Matt-23-21\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">21\u00a0<\/sup>And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells\u00a0in it.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23941\" class=\"text Matt-23-22\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">22\u00a0<\/sup>And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God\u2019s throne and by the one who sits on it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-23942\" class=\"text Matt-23-23\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">23\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWoe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth\u00a0of your spices\u2014mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law\u2014justice, mercy and faithfulness.\u00a0You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23943\" class=\"text Matt-23-24\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">24\u00a0<\/sup>You blind guides!\u00a0You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-23944\" class=\"text Matt-23-25\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">25\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWoe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish,\u00a0but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23945\" class=\"text Matt-23-26\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">26\u00a0<\/sup>Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-23946\" class=\"text Matt-23-27\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">27\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWoe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,\u00a0which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23947\" class=\"text Matt-23-28\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">28\u00a0<\/sup>In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-23948\" class=\"text Matt-23-29\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">29\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWoe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets\u00a0and decorate the graves of the righteous.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23949\" class=\"text Matt-23-30\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">30\u00a0<\/sup>And you say, \u2018If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.\u2019<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23950\" class=\"text Matt-23-31\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">31\u00a0<\/sup>So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23951\" class=\"text Matt-23-32\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">32\u00a0<\/sup>Go ahead, then, and complete\u00a0what your ancestors started!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-23952\" class=\"text Matt-23-33\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">33\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cYou snakes! You brood of vipers!\u00a0How will you escape being condemned to hell?<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23953\" class=\"text Matt-23-34\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">34\u00a0<\/sup>Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify;\u00a0others you will flog in your synagogues\u00a0and pursue from town to town.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23954\" class=\"text Matt-23-35\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">35\u00a0<\/sup>And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel\u00a0to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah,\u00a0whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23955\" class=\"text Matt-23-36\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">36\u00a0<\/sup>Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.<\/span><\/span> (Matt 23:13-36 <span style=\"font-weight: normal;\">[see also Matt 3:7; 12:34<\/span>)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>He judged<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\"><span class=\"text Matt-11-20\"><sup class=\"versenum\">20\u00a0<\/sup>Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23481\" class=\"text Matt-11-21\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">21\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWoe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!\u00a0For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon,\u00a0they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23482\" class=\"text Matt-11-22\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">22\u00a0<\/sup>But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23483\" class=\"text Matt-11-23\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">23\u00a0<\/sup>And you, Capernaum,\u00a0will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.<sup class=\"footnote\" data-fn=\"#fen-NIV-23483e\" data-link=\"[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-NIV-23483e&quot; title=&quot;See footnote e&quot;&gt;e&lt;\/a&gt;]\">[<a title=\"See footnote e\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%2011&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-23483e\">e<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23484\" class=\"text Matt-11-24\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">24\u00a0<\/sup>But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.\u201d (Matt 11:20-24)<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>He was critical<\/td>\n<td>\n<div style=\"height: 100px; overflow-y: scroll; padding: 10px;\">\n<p>Peter:\u00a0 <b><sup>23<\/sup> Jesus turned and said to Peter, \u201cGet behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.\u201d (Matt 16:23) <\/b><\/p>\n<p>Pharisees: <strong><span class=\"text Matt-15-1\">Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23636\" class=\"text Matt-15-2\"><sup class=\"versenum\">2\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWhy do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don\u2019t wash their hands before they eat!\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span id=\"en-NIV-23637\" class=\"text Matt-15-3\"><sup class=\"versenum\">3\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus replied,\u00a0<span class=\"woj\">\u201cAnd why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23638\" class=\"text Matt-15-4\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">4\u00a0<\/sup>For God said, \u2018Honor your father and mother\u2019<sup class=\"footnote\" data-fn=\"#fen-NIV-23638a\" data-link=\"[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-NIV-23638a&quot; title=&quot;See footnote a&quot;&gt;a&lt;\/a&gt;]\">[<a title=\"See footnote a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%2015&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-23638a\">a<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0and \u2018Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.\u2019<sup class=\"footnote\" data-fn=\"#fen-NIV-23638b\" data-link=\"[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-NIV-23638b&quot; title=&quot;See footnote b&quot;&gt;b&lt;\/a&gt;]\">[<a title=\"See footnote b\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%2015&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-23638b\">b<\/a>]<\/sup><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23639\" class=\"text Matt-15-5\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">5\u00a0<\/sup>But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is \u2018devoted to God,\u2019<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23640\" class=\"text Matt-15-6\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">6\u00a0<\/sup>they are not to \u2018honor their father or mother\u2019 with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23641\" class=\"text Matt-15-7\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">7\u00a0<\/sup>You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><strong style=\"font-family: inherit;\"><span id=\"en-NIV-23642\" class=\"text Matt-15-8\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">8\u00a0<\/sup>\u201c\u2018These people honor me with their lips, <\/span><\/span><\/strong><strong style=\"font-family: inherit;\"><span class=\"indent-1\"><span class=\"text Matt-15-8\"><span class=\"woj\">but their hearts are far from me. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><strong style=\"font-family: inherit;\"><span id=\"en-NIV-23643\" class=\"text Matt-15-9\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">9\u00a0<\/sup>They worship me in vain; <\/span><\/span><\/strong><strong style=\"font-family: inherit;\"><span class=\"indent-1\"><span class=\"indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"text Matt-15-9\"><span class=\"woj\">their teachings are merely human rules.\u2019<sup class=\"footnote\" data-fn=\"#fen-NIV-23643c\" data-link=\"[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-NIV-23643c&quot; title=&quot;See footnote c&quot;&gt;c&lt;\/a&gt;]\">[<a title=\"See footnote c\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%2015&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-23643c\">c<\/a>]<\/sup>\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><strong style=\"font-family: inherit;\">(Matt 15:1-9)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Herod: <strong><span id=\"en-AMP-25550\" class=\"text Luke-13-31\"><sup class=\"versenum\">31\u00a0<\/sup>At that very hour some Pharisees came up and said to Him, \u201cLeave and go away from here, because Herod [Antipas] wants to kill You.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"en-AMP-25551\" class=\"text Luke-13-32\"><sup class=\"versenum\">32\u00a0<\/sup>And He said to them,\u00a0<span class=\"woj\">\u201cGo and tell that fox<\/span>\u00a0[that sly, cowardly man],\u00a0<span class=\"woj\">\u2018Listen carefully: I cast out demons and perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third\u00a0<i>day<\/i>\u00a0I reach My goal.\u2019<\/span> (Lk 13:31-32 [AMP])<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>He got angry<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\"><span class=\"text Matt-21-12\"><sup class=\"versenum\">12\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying\u00a0and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers\u00a0and the benches of those selling doves.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-23840\" class=\"text Matt-21-13\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">13\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cIt is written,\u201d<\/span>\u00a0he said to them,\u00a0<span class=\"woj\">\u201c\u2018My house will be called a house of prayer,\u2019<sup class=\"footnote\" data-fn=\"#fen-NIV-23840e\" data-link=\"[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-NIV-23840e&quot; title=&quot;See footnote e&quot;&gt;e&lt;\/a&gt;]\">[<a title=\"See footnote e\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%2021&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-23840e\">e<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0but you are making it \u2018a den of robbers.\u2019<sup class=\"footnote\" data-fn=\"#fen-NIV-23840f\" data-link=\"[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-NIV-23840f&quot; title=&quot;See footnote f&quot;&gt;f&lt;\/a&gt;]\">[<a title=\"See footnote f\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%2021&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-23840f\">f<\/a>]<\/sup>\u201d (Matt 21:12-13)<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border-bottom-left-radius: 10pt;\">He will punish His enemies and banish those who persecuted Him.<\/td>\n<td style=\"border-bottom-right-radius: 10pt; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"height: 100px; overflow-y: scroll;\">\n<p><span class=\"text Matt-25-31\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">31\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWhen the Son of Man comes\u00a0in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-24041\" class=\"text Matt-25-32\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">32\u00a0<\/sup>All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate\u00a0the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-24042\" class=\"text Matt-25-33\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">33\u00a0<\/sup>He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-24043\" class=\"text Matt-25-34\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">34\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cThen the King will say to those on his right, \u2018Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom\u00a0prepared for you since the creation of the world.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-24044\" class=\"text Matt-25-35\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">35\u00a0<\/sup>For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-24045\" class=\"text Matt-25-36\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">36\u00a0<\/sup>I needed clothes and you clothed me,\u00a0I was sick and you looked after me,\u00a0I was in prison and you came to visit me.\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-24046\" class=\"text Matt-25-37\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">37\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cThen the righteous will answer him, \u2018Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-24047\" class=\"text Matt-25-38\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">38\u00a0<\/sup>When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-24048\" class=\"text Matt-25-39\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">39\u00a0<\/sup>When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-24049\" class=\"text Matt-25-40\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">40\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cThe King will reply, \u2018Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-24050\" class=\"text Matt-25-41\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">41\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cThen he will say to those on his left, \u2018Depart from me,\u00a0you who are cursed, into the eternal fire\u00a0prepared for the devil and his angels.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-24051\" class=\"text Matt-25-42\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">42\u00a0<\/sup>For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-24052\" class=\"text Matt-25-43\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">43\u00a0<\/sup>I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-24053\" class=\"text Matt-25-44\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">44\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cThey also will answer, \u2018Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-24054\" class=\"text Matt-25-45\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">45\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cHe will reply, \u2018Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-24055\" class=\"text Matt-25-46\"><span class=\"woj\"><sup class=\"versenum\">46\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cThen they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.\u201d (Matt 25:31-46)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the fact that Jesus did criticize, judge, and resist evil, when you consider the way in which God empowered the Israelites in the context of their military endeavors, it&#8217;s obvious that &#8220;loving your enemy&#8221; means something more than just being accommodating\u00a0 (Ps 44:3).<\/p>\n<h3>You&#8217;re Not Being Kind If&#8230;<\/h3>\n<p>You&#8217;re not being kind if you&#8217;re making it easier for someone to sin. Nor are you loving your enemy, let alone your neighbor or family member, by enabling their disobedience. That would be like offering a glass of water to Adam and Eve so they can better digest the fruit they&#8217;re eating (Gen 3:6).<\/p>\n<p>Fact is, you are being disobedient by not calling out bad behavior, given what it says in Ephesians 5:11:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. (Eph 5:11 <span style=\"font-weight: normal;\">[see also Jas 4:17]<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When you consider the whole of God&#8217;s Word, and not just random verses taken out of context, a believer&#8217;s response to evil looks much different than the accommodating applause that is often promoted by our society today.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 90%; border: 1px solid #ccc; box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #ccc; border-radius: 10pt; height: 200px; margin: auto;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #000; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; border-top-left-radius: 10pt; border-top-right-radius: 10pt; padding: 10px;\">Do not judge&#8230;<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 10px; height: 125px; overflow-y: scroll;\">\n<p>That&#8217;s not a direct quote from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus never said not to judge. The verse in its entirety is, &#8220;<span class=\"text Matt-7-1\"><span class=\"woj\">Do not judge, or you too will be judged.&#8221;<\/span><\/span> (Matt 7:1) What Jesus was saying here is to not be hypocritical by criticizing something in a person&#8217;s behavior when you&#8217;re doing the same thing. Bear in mind that in John 7:24, Jesus says to stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly. You can&#8217;t expose the fruitless works of darkness without &#8220;judging&#8221; whether or not what you&#8217;re seeing is, in fact, sinful. Galatians 6:1 instructs those who are spiritually capable to help restore someone who&#8217;s been caught doing something wrong. Again, you can&#8217;t correctly identify wrongful behavior unless you&#8217;re judging.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gotquestions.org\/do-not-judge.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gotquestions.org<\/a> sums it up very well&#8230;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The Bible\u2019s command that we not judge others does not mean we cannot show discernment. Immediately after Jesus says, \u201cDo not judge,\u201d He says, \u201cDo not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs\u201d (<a class=\"BRST_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bibleref.com\/Matthew\/7\/Matthew-7-6.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"ESV.Matthew.7.6 noopener\">Matthew 7:6<\/a>). A little later in the same sermon, He says, \u201cWatch out for false prophets. . . . By their fruit you will recognize them\u201d (verses 15\u201316). How are we to discern who are the \u201cdogs\u201d and \u201cpigs\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gotquestions.org\/false-teachers.html\">false prophets<\/a>\u201d unless we have the ability to make a judgment call on doctrines and deeds? Jesus is giving us permission to tell right from wrong.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 90%; border: 1px solid #ccc; box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #ccc; border-radius: 10pt; height: 200px; margin: auto; margin-top: 25px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #000; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; border-top-left-radius: 10pt; border-top-right-radius: 10pt; padding: 10px;\">Do not defend yourself&#8230;<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 10px; height: 125px; overflow-y: scroll;\">\n<p>Jesus told His disciples to get a sword, and if they didn&#8217;t have one, to sell their coat and go buy one&#8230;<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 100%; text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\"><sup>36-37<\/sup>He said, \u201cThis is different. Get ready for trouble. Look to what you\u2019ll need; there are difficult times ahead. Pawn your coat and get a sword. What was written in Scripture, \u2018He was lumped in with the criminals,\u2019 gets its final meaning in me. Everything written about me is now coming to a conclusion.\u201d (Luke 22:36-37 [MSG])<\/div>\n<p>The NIV Text Note reads:<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 100%; text-align: center;\"><i>buy one &#8211; An extreme figure of speech used to warn them of the perilous times about to come. They could need defense and protection, as Paul did when he appealed to Caesar (Acts 25:11) as the one who \u201cbears the sword\u201d (Rom 13:4)<\/i><\/div>\n<p>The Bible is rife with military action, armed escorts, and multiple examples of &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=3781\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sanctified violence<\/a>&#8221; which make it abundantly clear that there are times when the use of force is both encouraged and, in many instances, empowered by God Himself. (see also Conquest of the Promised Land [Josh 6:20-21; Josh 11:20], Gideon [Jud 7], David defending Israel by attacking the Philistines [1 Sam 23:1-2], Building the Wall [Neh 4:13])<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 90%; border: 1px solid #ccc; box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #ccc; border-radius: 10pt; height: 200px; margin: auto; margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 25px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #000; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; border-top-left-radius: 10pt; border-top-right-radius: 10pt; padding: 10px;\">Love your enemy&#8230;<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 10px; height: 125px; overflow-y: scroll;\">\n<p>Agape love in practice is to be constantly encouraging the object of your love in a positive direction. You are not &#8220;loving your enemy&#8221; by subsidizing their bad behavior or ignoring the Standard that defines it. You do that by alerting them to the pain and the problems that lie just beyond the sin that they&#8217;re getting ready to commit. Confrontation and criticism are both represented in the example of Christ and we are commanded to be Christlike, not only by calling out bad behavior, but also in way we do it (Ps 141:5; Prov 12:18; 25:11; 27:5-6; Matt 18:15-17; Gal 6:1).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Scripture as a Whole<\/h3>\n<p>When you remain silent in the face of evil, not only do you bring judgment upon yourself (Jas 4:17), you effectively insulate yourself from the attacks that come from those who want to silence anyone who would dare to point out their sinister actions and intent, which is frowned upon as well (Gal 2:11-21).<\/p>\n<p>However sinful it may be, it&#8217;s an alluring way to remain on the sidelines so as to avoid the real conflict that&#8217;s happening on the field and the opposition you would have to contend with.<\/p>\n<p>But when you look at Scripture as a whole, you are compelled to concede that remaining either silent or accommodating is neither biblical let alone noble.<\/p>\n<p>What does it mean to love your enemy? At the very least, it means that you commit yourself to their welfare by helping them to avoid the consequences of bad decisions. You don&#8217;t do that by making it easier for them to fail or enabling the harm they would do to themselves and others.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 45%; margin-bottom: 15px; height: 100px; border: 1px solid #ccc; margin: auto; box-shadow: 5px 5px 3px #ccc; font-size: 9pt; text-align: center; border-top-left-radius: 10pt; border-top-right-radius: 10pt;\">\n<div style=\"width: 100%; padding: 10px; border-top-left-radius: 10pt; border-top-right-radius: 10pt; background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;\">What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy?<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 10px; overflow-x: scroll; white-space: nowrap; overflow-y: hidden; width: 100%;\"><a style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #000; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;\" href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4633\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy: Part I<\/a> \u2022 <a style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #000; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;\" href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4641\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy: Part II<\/a> \u2022 <a style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #000; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;\" href=\"https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/?p=4660\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy: Part III<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><div class='post_delimiter'><\/div><\/div><div class=\"post_author_timeline\"><\/div><span class='hidden'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='url'>https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/new_logo_rgb_blog.jpg<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='height'>324<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='width'>800<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"publisher\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Organization\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='name'>Bruce Gust<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='logo' itemscope itemtype='https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop='url'>https:\/\/muscularchristianityonline.com\/platform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/mc_logo_plain-300x138.jpg<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"author\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Person\" ><span itemprop='name'>Bruce Gust<\/span><\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"datePublished\" datetime=\"2026-06-11T22:49:49+00:00\" >2026-06-11 22:49:49<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"dateModified\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/dateModified\" >2026-06-25 19:05:46<\/span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop=\"mainEntityOfPage\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/mainEntityOfPage\" ><span itemprop='name'>What Does it Mean to Love Your Enemy? 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